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Environmental News

By: Marleny Arnoldi17th October 2018
The South African electronic-waste (e-waste) recycling industry has not yet reached a point where most components are recovered for reuse, University of KwaZulu-Natal rare earth recycling technologies researcher Mark Williams-Wynn told delegates at the WasteCon 2018 exhibition on Wednesday. He... →

By: Marleny Arnoldi17th October 2018
The informal waste economy in South Africa has been largely responsible for the high rates of post-consumer material recycling that have been achieved, GreenCape Sector Development Agency waste economy analyst Dr Kirsten Barnes noted during a presentation at WasteCon 2018, on Wednesday. Her... →

By: Kim Cloete16th October 2018
Public hearings into the Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) kicked off in Parliament on Tuesday, with several organisations voicing their concerns about the plan’s provision for new coal-fired power stations. Attorney Robyn Hugo of the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) told Parliament’s... →

By: Simone Liedtke16th October 2018
After acknowledging that its KwaZulu-Natal-based Shongweni landfill was a contributor to malodour, waste management company EnviroServ has returned to its “old way of disposing of waste”, which comprises using lime to raise the alkalinity (pH) levels at its landfill sites. This decision,... →

By: Simone Liedtke16th October 2018
Although still relatively young in South Africa, the economic contribution to the country through job creation in the used oil sector is looking very promising, according to a study commissioned by the Recycling Oil Saves the Environment (Rose) Foundation. A survey commissioned by the foundation... →

By: Creamer Media Reporter 15th October 2018
Attorneys from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) plan to, on Tuesday, tell Members of Parliament (MPs) that an Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity (IRP) that provides for expensive new coal-fired power, at a time when South Africa needs to be urgently transitioning away from... →

By: Shannon de Ryhove12th October 2018
The Italian-South African Chamber of Trade and Industries says Italian companies are becoming increasingly positive about the opportunities offered by South Africa, which is being acknowledged as a hub from which to expand and invest into surrounding African countries, says Italian-South African... →

By: Reuters10th October 2018
Road building company Eurovia and its parent Vinci have laid a kilometre of motorway using only recycled asphalt from a mobile plant, a world first that they said could help reduce the cost of motorway maintenance and cut pollution. The mobile recycling plant can be disassembled and moved along... →

By: Reuters9th October 2018
South African department store chain Woolworths Holdings will remove single-use plastic bags from one of its stores during a six-month trial period in a bid to end plastic pollution, it said on Monday. From November, Woolworths, which also has operations in Australia and New Zealand, will not... →

By: Bloomberg8th October 2018
The world must invest $2.4-trillion in clean energy every year through 2035 and cut the use of coal-fired power to almost nothing by 2050 to avoid catastrophic damage from climate change, according to scientists convened by the United Nations. Their report published Monday adds pressure on... →

By: News24Wire 8th October 2018
Unesco has offered South Africa "technical support" to protect the Kogelberg biosphere and preserve the Unesco status of the reserve, which has one of the highest levels of biodiversity and endemism on the planet. Unesco chief of media services George Papagiannis said this week that "Unesco was... →

By: Dylan Slater5th October 2018
Plastics have become the “ubiquitous workhorse material” of the modern economy, combining unrivalled functional properties with low cost, and its use has increased twenty-fold in the past half-century, according to circular economy advocacy charity The Ellen MacArthur Foundation. →

By: Tasneem Bulbulia3rd October 2018
Over and above appreciating the intrinsic value of water as a vital human resource, the South African approach should be to recognise the business value of the commodity and, therefore, the country should pursue investments in the sector to generate sustained economic growth, employment and... →

By: Reuters2nd October 2018
A study of the African bush elephants' vast network of deep wrinkles has found they are intricately designed to help the animals keep their cool, fight off parasites and defend against sun damage, scientists said on Tuesday. The fine pattern of millions of channels mean the elephants' skin can... →

By: Tasneem Bulbulia1st October 2018
Mars Multisales Africa, a division of global family-owned food company Mars, has recorded progress with its global Sustainable in a Generation plan, which was launched globally last year. The plan is designed to make tangible, scientifically-based changes to the way Mars does business globally. →

By: Tasneem Bulbulia1st October 2018
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) opened a meeting on Monday to consider its special report on global warming of 1.5 °C. Representatives of the IPCC’s 195 member governments will work with scientists from the IPCC from October 1 to 5 to finalise the Summary for Policymakers of... →

By: News24Wire 1st October 2018
The City of Cape Town's (CoCT) borehole drilling programme has scientists scratching their heads at the apparent determination of the City to drill into the hard rock of the Table Mountain Group Aquifer (TMGA) at great cost, while other cheaper and more environment-friendly options are not first... →

By: Jessica Oosthuizen28th September 2018
A change of attitude towards waste management and recycling is needed to effect a real and positive cultural shift in the sector, but cooperation and willingness to change behaviours is a significant obstacle, says waste management company Interwaste business development and marketing director... →

RECYCLE, REUSE, REPURPOSE
Waste management companies play an important role in providing alternative channels of waste disposal to assist in encouraging citizens to adopt a recycling culture

28th September 2018
As landfill space in South Africa reaches capacity, the controlled, planned and systematic filling of landfill cells requires progressive closure and rehabilitation, says infrastructure delivery company Aecom, adding that it can provide this specialised service. Landfills may need to be closed... →

JAM-PACKED JUNK Once filled to capacity, landfills must be closed and decommissioned

28th September 2018
Plastics industry body Plastics|SA is calling on role-players to work towards achieving the goal of zero pellet, flake and powder loss. The local plastics industry has reiterated its commitment to keep the country’s water sources free of plastic pollution. Plastics|SA executive director Anton... →

Photo by Bloomberg
PROBLEMATIC PELLETS
Pellet, flake and powder loss has several negative impacts on individual companies, the plastics industry as a whole and the environment

By: Schalk Burger28th September 2018
Local product responsibility organisation the Southern African Vinyls Association (Sava), which represents the local polyvinyl chloride (PVC) industry, has appointed Polystyrene Association of South Africa CEO Adri Spangenberg as its new CEO. Spangenberg was appointed by the Sava board in June,... →

ADRI SPANGENBERG
The input of current and new members is welcomed to support work on Extended Producer Responsibility

By: Marleny Arnoldi27th September 2018
The Competition Tribunal has imposed a R10.2-milllion penalty on Enviroserv, after investigations found that Enviroserv had colluded with Wasteman to set the downstream price in the market for waste transportation services.
The tribunal found that the two firms used their upstream joint... →

By: Simone Liedtke26th September 2018
Thee lecturers from the University of Cape Town (UCT) are part of Team Mahali, the only team representing sub-Saharan Africa in the international Solar Decathlon competition, which will be held in Morocco next year. The Solar Decathlon is an international competition to design and build a fully... →

By: Reuters26th September 2018
Climate-related disclosure is becoming mainstream as more firms support and align their financial reporting to recommendations by a global task force though few disclose the financial impact on the company, a survey shows. The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) was set up... →

By: News24Wire 26th September 2018
Consultants employed by Australian company Mineral Sands Resources (MSR) have acknowledged that the massive expansion of mining for mineral sands on 10 West Coast beaches north of the Olifants River estuary will cause unavoidable environmental damage, but claim that the damage can be reduced to... →

By: Reuters25th September 2018
South African phosphate miner, Kropz, is on track to list on London's Aim Stock Exchange by the end of the year as it prepares for first production from its main asset in 2019, its chief executive said on Tuesday. Kropz wants to raise cash to pay down debt and further develop its Elandsfontein... →

By: News24Wire 25th September 2018
Government has announced the dates for the official memorial and funeral services of late Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa. Molewa passed away on Saturday, at the age of 61. Her official memorial service will take place in Pretoria on Wednesday, government announced on Monday night.... →

By: African News Agency 24th September 2018
Parliament's environmental affairs portfolio committee has joined others in paying tribute to environmental affairs minister Edna Molewa, who died at the age of 61 in a Pretoria hospital on Saturday after a short illness. "The committee is saddened by the passing of the minister, as she has... →

By: News24Wire 21st September 2018
Cape Town has felt the shock of the taps nearly running dry and the shock of floods. It has felt the chronic stress of crime and being the murder capital of the country. The daily stress of hours in traffic congestion and being stranded on trains. The stress of poverty and 450 000 people who want... →

By: Marleny Arnoldi20th September 2018
In a Ministerial declaration issued on Thursday at the closing of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, African governments agreed to enhance innovative solutions and build human capital to achieve sustainable development in Africa around the environment.
“The environment is... →

By: Schalk Burger14th September 2018
Local product responsibility organisation the Southern African Vinyls Association (Sava), which represents the local polyvinyl chloride (PVC) industry, announced on Thursday that it had appointed Polystyrene Association of South Africa CEO Adri Spangenberg as its new CEO. Spangenberg was... →

14th September 2018
While wooden pallets and wooden crates are typically used as a packaging solution when transporting goods, they may not meet international regulations when those goods cross country borders. Supply chain managers are faced with two options: make sure their wooden packaging complies with all... →

JAN VREKEN
Making wooden crates and pallets compliant can be costly in the long run

By: Jessica Oosthuizen14th September 2018
Various industries are becoming increasingly aware of product identification solutions, owing to the upsurge of counterfeit products entering the local market from the Far East, says identification and traceability company Traceability Solutions MD Kelby Parker. This has resulted in a growing... →